Help me find a dress for Celebration night on a cruise

[AutumnNymph]

Hello wise Mumsnetters

I am going on my first cruise in 17 days and am completely stuck on what to wear for the Celebration night at cruise. We are going with p&o if that makes a difference

I am 5.2 , a size 8-10 and busty. Budget around £100 ish.

HELP!!!

What's your usual style. What colours do you like?

@Illpickthatup my style is quite eclectic. I tend to like simple lines and some structure. Floaty oversized drowns me. I am brown skinned and like jewel tones, navy or black.

I definitely don't like high necks. On a an everyday basis or work mode my legs are ny best feature and I definitely like to get them out.

Get yourself on Vinted. Loads of formal cruise wear worn once or twice.

Lots of guests on P&O swear by Quiz.

I usually wear a knee length black velvet cocktail dress, as the air conditioning works well.

Vinted is your friend here! I buy from there for cruises, we go on long ones and there were 11 formal nights so I needed a few.

Some brands to search for
Phase Eight
Adrianna Papell
Quiz
Coast

If you know a brand that fits you well, try searching for that brand + evening dress or gown

P&O guests wear a wide range of styles. I wore a simple evening dress and DH wore a dinner suit. Some women were dressed up in sequins and glam but plenty wore trousers and a sparkly top or a smart dress. Wear what you are comfortable in, would be my advice.

Personally I would just wear something I already own that I feel great in. As a pp has suggested, maybe something simple. You really can’t just go wrong in a black dress.

I’ve found lately it seems that irrespective of dress codes even in really expensive hotels/resorts people just wear what they want to.

Thanks so much everyone!

Wear a knee length cocktail dress, I found P&O not to be too formal.

Club L London has some lovely dresses that would be suitable.

I wore a formal jumpsuiton our P&O cruise a few weeks ago.

There are so many different variations from nice top and trousers/skirt to full on black tie, and the lovely thing is everyone looks great and you don't feel any pressure.

We loved celebration night, you'll an amazing time).

Oh hello clothing also have some great options. They actually have a black tie section.

This one is lovely and shows some leg.

https://ohelloclothing.com/products/mulan-sequin-gown-emerald-green

@AutumnNymph which P&O ship is it? Iona and Arvia are a million miles away from Aurora and Arcadia in terms of celebrations or gala nights.

MiL (RIP) swore by black trousers and a blingy top. She went on loads of cruises and also used this mantra for any formal occasions.

That's interesting! We were Iona, how do the others vary?

Aurora and Arcadia tend to have much older, more traditional guests with higher expectations of what other guests should wear! There is a lot of ballroom dancing in the central areas in the evenings. Everyone dresses for dinner on a gala night, often with a theme (black & white night, masked balls etc). I found Cunard felt more relaxed than Arcadia.

Iona and Arvia are the most laid back, as they are aimed at a younger demographic and family holidays. Last month Iona had an anything goes vibe, from micro dresses teenagers would wear clubbing to slinky long glamour (and enviable figures!) along with classic sparkly tops and trousers. There is a huge range, with nobody likely to feel over or underdressed in the evenings.

Britannia, Ventura and Azura are somewhere between the two. Lots of Roman or Quiz dresses. Teenagers get their prom dresses out again.

The Facebook pages for P&O fans have loads of photos for inspiration on each ship.

We are doing the Norwegian Fjords on the Iona!

Loving all the insights and advise so far, thanks everyone!

You will have a ball!

One thing we found in May is how important it is to book things you really want to do or restaurants you really want to visit in advance. There is less need to do this on the older ships, but we left it too late to book a few things & then had to keep refreshing the app each evening on repeat. If you want any specialist dining, definitely try to book before you board.

The Fjord cruise from Alesund is incredible- we saw whales- but the snow is on the mountains because it's cold! Pack fleeces and waterproofs.

If you have any Fjallraven Kanken fans in the family, there is a shop minutes from the ship in Stavanger. They have the complete range and in theory you can claim the sales tax back (unless you miss the final port and customs can't board to process your refund.

On that same point, make sure your travel insurance has missed port cover. We got £300 back between DD and I because we had an extra sea day.

That's what we did! You'll have a blast!